49ers Interested in Signing Mitchell Trubisky

Frankly, I'm not surprised.

Frankly, I'm not surprised.

If the 49ers ever considered trading for Sam Darnold or Teddy Bridgewater, as they reportedly did, then they'd have to consider signing Trubisky.

Because Trubisky is better than those two. And cheaper, too.

And according to the NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, the 49ers just might sign Trubisky. Here's what Garafolo said Monday morning:

“In January, I put Trubisky with the 49ers because that Kyle Shanahan type offense could really suit what he does. I’d give myself a fighting chance right now for that to be correct. I do gather that he is on their list of quarterbacks they are considering.”

I completely understand why the 49ers would be interested in Trubisky. He's only 26. His career record is 29-21 despite playing for a terrible offensive team -- the Bears. His career quarterback rating is a respectable 87.2. And he's mobile. He averaged 5.6 yards per carry for his career. And he's a free agent. And he's presumably cheap compared to other free agent quarterbacks.

But if the 49ers sign Trubisky to back up Garoppolo, that would be a mistake. Because Trubisky probably would cost the 49ers at least $5 million. And paying that much for a backup when the starter makes $27 million would be way too much.

Plus, Trubisky is better than Garoppolo. Can do everything Garoppolo does plus more. Has a stronger arm and faster legs and no surgically-repaired knee.

If the 49ers sign Trubisky, they should sign him to replace Garoppolo. Which means the 49ers should trade or cut Garoppolo. And then they should draft a quarterback.

Because Trubisky isn't the answer. He's the placeholder.

Let's see what they do.


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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.